Medical Exam

We had to take Hana to her medical exam this morning, and I can already tell that going to the doctor is not going to be one of her favorite things.  The whole exam didn't take long at all.  We were able to walk to the clinic from the hotel.  We had to stop at the photo shop first, where the babies had to get passport sized photos taken.  After that, it was off to the clinic.  When you get there, there is a section in the back where the adoption physicals take place, and that section has three different examination rooms.  You don't have to visit the rooms in any particular order, which is good because it made it so much faster for each of the families to make it through. 

Hana's first stopped checked her eyes, ears, and throat.  The nurse in this room first tried testing her hearing with a squeaky toy, which she could care less about.  I was afraid that they would write down that she had hearing problems.  When that didn't work, she pulled out a tambourine, that sounded much more like a rattle, which Hana likes.  So she did follow the sound for that.  This room wasn't too bad for her, although she didn't like having her ears and throat checked.

Our second stop consisted of a bit more poking and prodding.  This was the medical/surgical room.  They checked her heart and chest, and this is the part of the exam where she had to get undressed.  She didn't much care for the doctor touching her too much, and she cried a little more during this part of the exam.  She gave me such a pitiful look, like she was trying to tell me to make the doctor stop.  I wish I could have, but I guess it's part of the process to get her back into the states.  I am glad that we are a non-Hague family so that we didn't have to get any vaccines administered while we were there.  I'm dreading that when we get home, but at least I know that it will not need to be repeated.

The last stop was temperature, weight, and height, which I thought would be the easiest since there is less prodding here, and I was almost right.  She did fine when they took her temperature, but she was not a fan of being weighed and measured.  The baby scale I recognized because I remember seeing one in my pediatricians office when I was a child.  I am sure they have changed some since then, but the concept was the same.  The measurement machine, on the other hand, was quite a bit different than what I would have imagined.  It kind of looked like a woodworking tool you would see in Brian's shop.  It had rails on either side, and the bottom part slid to meet the baby's feet.  The top was fixed, and it was cushioned for her head.  It looked kind of uncomfortable, and I would have probably screamed as loud as her if they put me in it too.  But, I will say that my girl is good and solid.  She has gained a bit more weight, and she is now a whopping 14.4 lbs.  She also grew a little as well, and is now 25 inches long.  She is not the biggest baby in the group, but she did weigh more than some of the other girls, and she is the youngest.  Brian and I have already mentioned that we don't think she will be a dainty girl.  She is pretty solid and very strong, so we think we might have a little athlete on our hands.  She has a pretty good arm, and she can kick pretty hard, which we have both experienced in the middle of the night.  She also has a very tight grip, which means she will be able to really grip a paddle when she is old enough to kayak.  I may still end up with a very girly girl like a few have mentioned, but at this point, I do believe that she will be more of a tomboy like her mommy.

The exam pretty much wore her out, and she was asleep about 2 minutes after finishing her exam.  Carrying 14.5 lbs of sleeping baby back to the hotel meant for a tired mommy,
but we don't have to be anywhere until 4, so there will be naps all around.  This afternoon, we will be heading to the market, which sounds like a very interesting experience.  I'll be sure to post about that later tonight.